In their transparency, Novartis announced today at the Town Hall Meeting that there will in fact be cuts made to the sales force. I appreciate this transparent approach and commend Novartis for their efforts especially when in the past they failed miserably in the area of communication.
So now what? Do we continue on with our business as though we may be the chosen lucky few who are still standing in 2014 when the dust settles from the next 2 very tumultuous years or do we become essentially frozen by the fear of the unknown? Do we spend the next several weeks/months guessing at how Novartis and this external company will make the decision as to who stays/who goes? Will a "1" on last years performance review be looked at, will age/tenure be weighted? Will they use the DAM, the edge, WPT, WLT and TAN ( all of which do not add up) to determine who is a star performer? Will our relationships with customer's/managers and teammates be factored in? Will they spin the wheel of fortune/wheel of misfortune to determine our fates?
For many of us this is another "here we go again" moment at Novartis. We have given up our mornings, evenings, weekends and holiday's to show our comittment in driving sales and developing customer relationships. We have watched good/excellent reps be downsized/fired and relocated ( remember when reps had to drive 2-3 hours before they even got into territory). We have watched our sales cycle change, our bonus payouts shrink and our products change when the wind blows in a different direction. In almost all of these instances we did not have a choice, nor a voice.
We again do not have a choice when they make their decisions on who will be let go and who will stay. Each of us must take a look at ourselves and determine how to proceed with the information that we learned today. This news can immobilize us, keep us up at night, cause a great deal of stress. Or, this news can calm us. Life continues on as we know it and we hope for the best. Or, this news can motivate us to start looking at other career options/other companies where our talents can be utilized.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain. Life will go on in pharmaceuticals with or without us.